The Storied Life of A.J. Fikey



Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 2014

“On the ferry from Hyannis to Alice Island, Amelia Loman paints her nails yellow and , while waiting for them to dry, skims her predecessor’s notes: ‘Island Books, approximately $250,000.00 per annum in sales, the better portion of that in the summer month to folks on holiday.’” 

 Amelia Loman, the publisher’s sales representative newly assigned to Island Books, is on her way to meet the store’s owner and proprietor, the often irascible A. J. Fikry.  Amelia has a personality as sunny as her nails and is confident she can handle Fikry.  Recently widowed, Fikry has little tolerance for people.  His old sales rep died and no one bothered to tell him, and now he has a different book rep assigned to his store, and he isn’t happy about it.

 The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry offers a glimpse into the world of booksellers and publishers in the days when publishing houses hired representatives, essentially traveling salespersons, to visit independent book stores to pitch the publisher’s latest offerings.  The lives and stories of Amelia Loman and A.J. Fikry soon intertwine, along with a small girl named Maya, Fikry’s former sister-in-law Ismay, her writer husband Daniel, and the local police chief. 

A.J. Fikry is a multidimensional character and most of the other characters are likable and well-developed.  Author Gabrielle Zevin begins each book chapter with notes that Fikry has written to guide and educate his daughter about selected short stories.  These prefaces add charm to the book.

I enjoyed the book more when I was reading it than I did after I finished it .  The author expects the readers to suspend disbelief at multiple illogical plot elements, and I eventually reached the tipping point.  I was also disappointed with the ending.  I felt the author was in a hurry to tie up all the loose ends in the plot, so the ending seemed glib and abrupt to me.  Nonetheless, the book was engaging.  I read it all one night after supper. 

My sister gave me this book when I visited her in November.  Her book club had read it, and the book includes suggested discussion questions for book club use.   I’m sure my sister’s group wasn’t the only one to select this book. It was also the featured book of the Target Book Club.  This novel generates spirited discussions.

Author Gabrielle Zevin is something of a child prodigy.  She began her writing career at age 14 as the music critic for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.  A Harvard graduate, she writes for the young adult market, as well as novels for adults.  Two of her screenplays have been made into movies.  The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry spent over four months on the New York Times Bestseller List.